TED LEITNER MARRIES JOHN MOORES, SO TO SPEAK

It might come as a surprise that sportscaster Ted Leitner is officiating at today’s wedding of former Padres owner John Moores to Dr. Dianne Rosenberg. But it probably shouldn’t.

When you think about it, Leitner, who got official one-time permission to do the honors, is experienced when it comes to weddings. After all, the longtime Padres radio announcer has been married four times himself.

It will be a doubleheader for Leitner. After the nuptials, set to start at 4:30 at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, he must get to Qualcomm Stadium for his play-by-play radio broadcast of the Aztecs’ nationally televised Homecoming football game at 7:30 p.m.

Among guests in town for the wedding is former President Jimmy Carter, who has been a longtime friend of Moores.

Mysterious gift: Every year during the Kids NewsDay fundraiser for Rady Children’s Hospital, the same man pulls his truck to the curb of the NBC-TV building downtown long enough to hand off a generous and sometimes unusual donation before he drives away. One year he gave a peanut butter jar full of silver dollars.

This week, the mystery man handed an envelope to NBC 7 weatherman Whitney Southwick stuffed with cash: a $100 bill, five $20 bills, and five old coins.

At a Kearny Mesa coin shop, four of the coins were appraised at $65.50 but the fifth, a $20 gold piece minted in 1925, was valued at $1,700, bringing the total to $1,765.50.

The episode gets more interesting, though. Chad Martin, owner of San Diego Coin and Bullion, was so impressed that he matched the anonymous donation. The story goes on …

“We’re now launching the Heart of Gold Challenge with the idea of inspiring others to continue to pay it forward,” says Rady spokesman Ben Metcalf. He is seeking online donations in coin-inspired increments of $1.76, $17.65, $176.50, and so forth, at:
helpsdkids.org/heartofgoldchallenge

Tidbits: Councilman Kevin Faulconer was slated to accompany San Diego Assistant Chief of Police Shelley Zimmerman on a 620-mile bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego this month to raise money for challenged athletes. Zimmerman just completed the seven-day ride, averaging 90 miles a day, but without Faulconer, who had to turn his attention to his mayoral campaign. She exceeded her $12,500 pledge, though, topping $13,600. Meanwhile, fellow San Diegan Bill Walton leads the event fundraising list with nearly $160,000 in pledges. …

When George Mitrovich answered his cellphone at 10:52 a.m. Thursday, a familiar, but unexpected, voice greeted him. It was Vice President Joe Biden, whom Mitrovich met in 1971 when working in Washington, D.C. Biden subsequently addressed Mitrovich’s City Club gatherings several times before becoming vice president.

Seems George’s name came up when Biden ran into a mutual friend, and the V.P. decided to catch up by phone.

Pet peeves: The San Diego City Council will once again face the decision of closing La Jolla Children’s Pool to protect the seals at its meeting Tuesday. ﻿The San Diego Planning Commission has recommended making the beach off-limits to humans during seal pupping season, Dec. 15 to May 15 …